


Parker Jeffreys of Prince Edward Islands

by StrictlyNoFrills



Series: P.E.I. (AKA That Polar Series Where Everything is Soft and Nothing Hurts) [1]
Category: Roswell (TV 1999)
Genre: F/M, No Dreamer Wedding, Oneshot, Or Is It?, Post Season 3, polar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 17:49:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20139511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrictlyNoFrills/pseuds/StrictlyNoFrills
Summary: She’s Liz Guerin - or Parker Jeffreys, depending on who’s around - and she’s happy.





	Parker Jeffreys of Prince Edward Islands

**Author's Note:**

> If I owned Roswell, we would have either had a much more considerate Max, or we would have had a Polar ending.
> 
> Since neither of those things happened...
> 
> I also do not own Casper. If I did, there would not have been sequels. The sequels sucked.

As she meticulously writes notes for herBiochemistry course, Liz marvels at how much can change in five years. 

It seems like yesterday they were running from the FBI in that beat-up old van. But at the same time, thosetwo years she and Michael spent on the road with the others feel so far away from the life they have now. 

Here, in their little one bedroom apartment, just a short drive away from UPEI, with Michael’s art covering the walls and Liz’s textbooks and notebooks littering every available flat surface- of which there are few, because Michael refuses to consider anywhere in the kitchen “available”; the kitchen is for storing, cooking, and eating food, and that is all (unless he’s in a particularly amorous mood, and they don’t want to waste time walking the short steps to the bedroom or the living room, of course) - everything is cozy and comfortable and completely them. This is a different kind of cramped than what they had on the road. A kind of in each other’s back pockets that they chose when they finally decided that they were done with running and fighting and never putting down any roots. It’s the kind of cozy that Ren and Parker Jeffreys, young married couple, can afford on the money he makes at the local garage and she at the school library.

It’s nothing less than everything she never knew she wanted. Or maybe she did know, at least a little. Enough that she gave Max his ring back before they could go through with the wedding, though she told her parents that the two of them had gotten married when she sent them her journal. Why make them worry about her more than she had to? Why not give them something to be happy about, even if Max would never have been her parents’ first choice? 

And then Maria decided, about six months into their extended road trip, that she was tired of the constant stress and the lack of privacy, and she’d hugged Liz and Michael goodbye and taken a bus to New York. She’s still having the time of her life, singing in dive bars and at weddings and school dances and bat mitzvahs with Billy in the little band they put together.

About a year after that, Liz and Michael, who’d grown closer by nature of the hole Maria’s departure had left in their lives, shared their first kiss, and it was like Liz found a part of herself she hadn’t known she was missing. They did their best to keep things quiet, not wanting to worsen the strain on the group by throwing their relationship in Max’s face. But it’s hard to keep a secret when you live in such close quarters, and it’s even harder when that secret is young love.

The final straw that drove Michael and Liz to strike out on their on was a near-miss with the FBI. Kyle and Isabel were on their way back from a grocery store run, and they picked up a tail. The two of them weren’t even able to tell the rest of the group about it until they were already stowed away on a cruise ship after leading the agents on a chase for three days. Three days of stealing different cars and backtracking and laying fake trails. Three days of Liz, Michael, and Max wondering what had happened to them, not even knowing if they were still alive. Isabel had pulled the three of them into a dream and told them everything, and then she and Kyle spent the next few months switching from ship to ship, until they found themselves on a beach in Italy. They backpacked from there to Russia, and they’ve been there ever since, because Russia has no extradition treaty with the US.

The entire thing shook Liz and Michael to the core, and they both decided staying on American soil was no longer an option. Moving around from place to place was clearly not enough. So, they said goodbye to Max, who didn’t want to leave the country his son lived in, forged new identities for themselves, and made their way to the Canadian border. It wasn’t as safe as Russia, but at least they didn’t have to learn a completely new language, and it was far enough away for their peace of mind.

It was even far enough away for Liz to start saving up for tuition, and to enroll in college about a year after their arrival in PEI.

And now here they are, three years later, winding down for the night, with Liz wrapping up her Biochem chapter, and Michael laying the groundwork for his next painting, plotting it out in his sketchbook.

The first strains of “Unforgiven” come through the speakers on their radio, and Liz sets aside her textbook and goes to where Michael is sitting, working on the sketch.

She holds out her hand. “Dance with me.”

“I can’t.”

“Mmm, all that time you spent on dance lessons in junior year says you can.” She shoves down the swell of sorrow that rises up any time that part of their lives comes up. “Come on. It’s a slow song. It’s perfect.”

He stares up at her for a few more beats, and then he sighs, setting aside his sketch pad and pencil.

Taking her hand, he walks with her to the center of their small living room and wraps her up in his arms.

“See? This is nice.”

His lips twitch up at the corners. “Yeah. It kinda is.” Any time he’s got his arms full of Liz is alright in his book.

She sighs happily. “Have I told you lately that I love you?”

“I distinctly remember hearing you say it very loudly last night- actually, it was more like you screamed it. And a whole lot of yes, yes, please, right there-“

She flicks his ear lightly. “Okay, enough of _that_. Jerk. But no, I just meant in general.”

“Liz, even when you don’t actually say the words, you tell me all the time.”

“Good,” she said warmly. “So do you. I never have to wonder.” It’s such a relief to know, unequivocally, that she is the center of his universe. There’s nothing dragging him away or diving his affections elsewhere. There are no regrets. It’s the most comforting, and yet liberating thing, what they have together. She prays that the others will have the chance to experience something like this someday. She doesn’t have to tell Michael any of this; he already knows.

They sway together, completely ignoring the fact that the music has changed, and Michael rests his head against hers. “Can I keep you?”

Liz laughs under her breath fondly. “Did Isabel pick the movie you guys watched last night?”

Even though they live thousands of miles apart, Michael and Isabel make it a point to have “movie nights”, which are not actually nights for one of them- usually Michael, since his schedule is a little more flexible- given the time difference. They both go to their local rental stores and rent a copy of the same movie and chat with each other about it in their instant messaging group. Isabel typically gets to choose, since there’s a limited number of English dubbed films in the little suburb of Moscow where she and Kyle live.

Liz thinks the whole thing is adorable, especially since it was actually Michael’s idea.

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Yeah, okay, Casper.”

Michael grunts and tries to pull away, but Liz holds him closer instead. “No, Michael, it was sweet. I didn’t mean to make fun of you. I just don’t get to see that side of you very often. But I liked it. And yes. You can keep me - as long as I can keep you.”

“Face it, Parker. You’re stuck with me.”

“You know? I’m really good with that, Friendly Ghost.”

He snorts. “Shut up.”

“Make me.”

“Fine, I will. Just remember, you asked for it.”

“Yes. Yes, I did.” 

Of course she did. Because she’s Liz Guerin- or Parker Jeffreys, depending on who’s around- and she’s happy.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote about 80 percent of this on my phone at work- I know. The shame. Don’t look at me like that. Anyway, apologies if it’s a little kitschy and rough. I just had this image in my head of Michael asking Liz, a la Casper at the Halloween party, if he could keep her, and it wouldn’t get out of my head until I finished it.


End file.
